Social media can ruin careers – except the president’s

Twitter has become a widely used social media platform, spreading news and memes to users alike.

College professors and job experts are always quick to warn against acting immaturely or inappropriately on social media because it can impact your path to success in the future.

However, it appears our president isn’t held to that same standard.

Photo via Flickr/Michael Vadon.

On March 13, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be replaced by CIA director Mike Pompeo at the end of the month.

Tillerson’s spokesman stated that Tillerson only learned of his firing when he saw the tweet. Trump called Tillerson himself hours later, after Tillerson had already seen the tweet, to confirm he was out of a job.

According to the BBC, while speaking to reporters outside the White House on March 13, Trump said that his differences with Tillerson ultimately came down to disagreeing on certain foreign affairs. For example, Trump stated that while Tillerson was in favor of the Iran deal – which lessened economic sanctions on Iran – he was not.

It is appalling that the president of the United States was so immature to fire a member of his cabinet on social media, yet it’s not too surprising.

Trump’s behavior on Twitter has become sort of a notorious phenomenon. During his presidential campaign, he attacked his opponent, Hillary Clinton, on social media, targeting everything from her marriage to her credibility as a politician. Since being elected, his tweets have only become more unhinged.

He slanders immigrants to FBI officials to members of his own cabinet.

Trump often tweets from his @realDonaldTrump account, giving citizens a line of access to exactly what the president is thinking. Twitter has become a platform for Trump to make officials statements, some of which have featured typos or inaccuracies.

According to CNET, Trump’s Twitter behavior has gone as far as redefining politics in the modern world. Two-thirds of Americans now get much of their news from social media, so when the president of the United States has something to say, it is easy for American citizens to accept it as fact.

In the age of “fake news,” a raw, unfiltered president is just what Trump’s voters want to hear. To them, it is a way of bypassing the “fake media.”

With the way Trump acts on Twitter, Tillerson’s firing should come as no surprise. The tweet that fired Tillerson, along with other tweets, demonstrates the president’s unprofessionalism.

This goes beyond political differences between Trump and myself.

This is not the way the president should be acting on a public platform and it is essential that he hold his office to a higher standard.